Joe Root set to feature in Big Bash League to gain more T20 experience

Root will be playing for Sydney Thunder in Australia's premier T20 domestic tournament.

England Test Captain, Joe Root has announced that he is set to gain some invaluable white ball experience, as he'll be featuring in Australia's premier T20 domestic competition after completing signing with Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League.

Root’s grueling international schedule has meant he has played just 11 T20s since England reached the World T20 final in 2016 and he is intent on bettering his batting prowess in the limited overs game, having been dropped from the recent T20I series decider against India in Bristol.

Root is desperate to play all white-ball cricket for England but fears being left behind by a rapidly evolving format. Eight of those 11 matches have been for England - the others for Yorkshire - but the national team have rested him from nine T20s in that time. He has an eye on the World T20 in Australia in 2020.

Around December, England will have finished their full tour of Sri Lanka and the 3 Tests and 6 white ball games tour of West Indies will only start in February. That would leave Root a substantial amount of time to play for Sydney Thunder with the Big Bash starting well before Christmas.

There's a general feeling around that Root's desperation to become an excellent one-day player is hurting his progress as a Test batsman and Root, like most good players do, want to prove his doubters wrong.